reconstruct

[ ree-kuhn-struhkt ]
See synonyms for reconstruct on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to construct again; rebuild; make over: The church was burned in 1895, but reconstructed in 1897.

  2. to re-create in the mind from given or available information: The first step in solving this crime was to reconstruct the events of the murder.

  1. to cause to abandon earlier positions, beliefs, etc.; cause to adjust to new or current situations: He's a reconstructed man with progressive views on gender equality.The protesters and resisters refuse to be reconstructed.

  2. Historical Linguistics. to arrive at (hypothetical earlier forms of words, phonemic systems, etc.) by comparison of data from a later language or group of related languages.

Origin of reconstruct

1
First recorded in 1760–70; re- + construct

Other words from reconstruct

  • re·con·struct·i·ble, adjective
  • re·con·struc·tor, re·con·struct·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use reconstruct in a sentence

  • He reconstructs in the latter what he destroyed in the former, in spite of what those may say who do not see the man himself.

    Tragic Sense Of Life | Miguel de Unamuno
  • It revivifies the blood, reconstructs the nerves, drives out the poisons which corrupt the human frame.

    The Clarion | Samuel Hopkins Adams
  • Fancy reconstructs reality, but possible reality, not the impossible or what is contradictory.

British Dictionary definitions for reconstruct

reconstruct

/ (ˌriːkənˈstrʌkt) /


verb(tr)
  1. to construct or form again; rebuild: to reconstruct a Greek vase from fragments

  2. to form a picture of (a crime, past event, etc) by piecing together evidence or acting out a version of what might have taken place

Derived forms of reconstruct

  • reconstructible, adjective
  • reconstruction, noun
  • reconstructive or reconstructional, adjective
  • reconstructor, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012